Electrical contact-making device



, UNiTED STAT-E1s PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. Z. DESANT, OF` YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORTO THE DESANT ELECTRIC COMPANY-,LOF OHIO.

EnI-:CTRICAL ooNlT'Ao-T-MAKING DEVICE.

SPEOIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 503,87' 1, dated November 14, 1893.

Application flied December 14. 1,892. stanno. 455,143. (Nomad.)

Io able others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

'.Ihe object of my invention is to produce a neat, simple and effective contact making device to be used on rail-roads to operate electric signals or other electrical devices upon the passage of a train or locomotive over said contact making device.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings,

Figure 1, is a cross section of a rail with myy 2o invention attached, showing a portion of a car Wheel passing over the same. Fig. 2, is a detail perspectivev view of the contact piece. Fig. 3, is a plan view of a portion of a railway'track showing the position on the rail z 5 which the contact piece preferably occupies.

Throughout the drawingslike reference figures refer to like parts. Y l

1, is a track rail.

2, is the contact piece.

3, is the car wheel or a portion of the face and flange of such wheel.

4, is one of the bolts by which the contact piece is clamped to the rail. the head 5 and the nut 6.

7, is a sheet of insulating material between the contact piece and the rail acting to cornpletely insulate these two parts one from the other.

8,1is a thimble or bushing of insulating material which surrounds that portion of the bolt 4, passing vthrough the web of the rail 1, and insulating it from said rail.

10, is a plate of metal against which the head 5, of the bolt 4, bears, and 9, is a sheet offinsulating material which separates this plate 10, from the rail 1.

In'Fig. 2, the contact piece 2, is shown in l detail in perspective. It has several holes 11, through which the bolts 4, pass, as indicated 5o 1n Fig. 1.

The bolt 4 has In Fig. 3, 12, 12, 85o., represent the ordinary cross ties on which therails 1, 13, and 14, are supported. In the usual manner of building rail-way tracks the joints of the rails are not opposite one another but are arranged alter 55 nately on eitherside, as shown in Fig. 3. In many cases it lis desirable to have the contact making and breaking device on each slde of the track at the same point. In this ca se my invention would be located as shown 1n 6o Fig. 3. The rails 13, and 14, would then cornpose the two partsA of one contact device and the rail 1, and the contact piece 2, would furnish the second contact making-device. As a pair, of car wheels ran along the .track they would simultaneously close the contact on either side.

From the foregoing the mode of operation of my invention is clear. In Fig. 1, 15 1s the wire and 16, the binding posts connecting the 7e rail l, with one poleA of a battery or other source of electric supply. 'The Wire 17, and the binding post 18, connect the contact piece 2, with the other pole of said source of electric supply. The car wheel 3, always has a face broad enough to over-hang the rail 1, and extend out over and touch the upper face of the contact piece 2. It iselear, therefore, that asthe car Wheel rolls over the rail it will also touch the contact piece 2, and electrically connect 8o them. Various changes could, of course, be made in the details of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. In place of the metal plate 10, shown in Fig. 1, they ordinary ish plate could be used. The bolt 4, 35`

may. be insulated from the contact piece 2, instead of from the rail 1, or to make the insulation doublysecure it might be insulated from both. It', however, the bolt is insulated from one or more of these two elements of the com- 9o bination it is suticient to render it operative.- Having, therefore, described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a contactmaking device the combina- .95 tion of the T shaped rail, the contact piece so shaped on one side asto correspond to the profile of the rail and have its upper face on a level with the top of the rail when the said piece is tted into place alongside the rail, Ioothe sheet of insulating material between the.: rail an'dthe cdt'ctfpiece and irsudate'd-lneansfol-fastening said contact piece to the rail, substantially as described.

2. In a contact making device the combination of the T shaped rail, the contact piece so shaped on' one side as to 'correspond to theprole of the rail and have ts'upper face On a level with the top of the rail when the said piece is fitted into place alongsidethe rail, the sheet of nsulatngma'terial between' the rail and the contact piece, the bolts which 

